“I couldn’t stand all the lies on the stations,″ she said, arguing that there wasn’t enough attention being paid to Palestinian suffering. “I started going to Instagram to get my news.”

Berent is among many progressive-minded Americans who have sworn off legacy media institutions. They’re turning to a widening mix of independent podcasts, social media accounts and digital news sites, part of an increasingly influential ecosystem that has boosted this year’s wave of antiestablishment, left-leaning candidates who may not have gotten as much attention otherwise.

Liberals remain more likely than conservatives to trust mainstream outlets, but the splintering echoes how conservatives skeptical of their party created a collection of insurgent news sites years ago. The shift has elevated individual commentators with opinions on the news, some of whom have proven influential in driving people’s votes.

Ryan Grim, a co-founder of Drop Site News and a veteran of online political debates, said progressive politicians have sought out his platform to reach voters. In a change from previous election cycles, “they have ways to get covered even if the mainstream just basically ignores them,” he said.

One of those candidates is Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for U.S. Senate in Michigan and faces the more moderate U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the Aug. 4 primary.

“I think in a lot of ways, where traditional media has been gatekeepers, we’re watching that gatekeeping function fall away,” El-Sayed said.

These changes have been on display this year in places like New York City, where a slate of progressive congressional candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated establishment-backed candidates.

Sara Hyler, a policy analyst in East Harlem, originally planned to support incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat in last month’s Democratic primary. But then Hyler started learning about progressive outsider Darializa Avila Chevalier through YouTube videos and podcasts, including from the liberal media company MeidasTouch.

“My actual beliefs are to the left of Democrats. I don’t want a moderate,” said Hyler, who ultimately voted for Avila Chevalier in hopes she could help nudge Congress toward progressive policies.

The rise of independent media has been part of a digital transformation that transcends politics, as chronically online Americans are turning toward news from social media and content creators. But it’s not just the popularity of smartphones driving that change.

“There’s a complete lack of trust in any and all institutions now,” said Mike Nellis, a Democratic consultant who hosts a podcast, writes a Substack and posts political analysis on social media. “That has led people to turn to individuals, and so now you’re picking your flavor of person to listen to.”

Among conservatives, faith in mainstream media and in the more moderate wing of the Republican Party faltered years ago, with the rise of the Tea Party movement paving the way for an alternative right-wing media ecosystem, including sites like the Daily Caller, Breitbart and The Blaze. Trump also tapped into a loose constellation of podcasts, including “The Joe Rogan Experience,” for his successful comeback campaign.

Reece Peck, a media culture professor at the College of Staten Island, said the left-wing version of that has happened slowly, beginning with the momentum of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ first presidential run in 2016. At the time, left-wing, antiestablishment YouTube accounts and podcasts like “The Young Turks” and “Chapo Trap House” were gaining attention but didn’t reach the majority of Democratic voters.

Now Democrats have realized their faith in institutions didn’t prevent Trump’s return.

“The ground has been made fertile for an anti-establishment media politics, where it just wasn’t quite there with the voter base in those previous cycles,” Peck said. Even older, moderate liberals, he said, have started to ″throw their hands in the air and look for alternatives.”

YouTube accounts like “Secular Talk” and “Breaking Points,” streamers like Hasan Piker and new digital journalism organizations like More Perfect Union and The Lever are among those that have seen their audiences multiply.

Grim said Drop Site has amassed 800,000 free and 60,000 paid subscribers since launching two years ago — more than he’d anticipated.

Saul Levin, a Michigan progressive organizer who recently started his own podcast about artificial intelligence data centers, said Trump’s attacks on the existing media landscape are part of the reason for that growth.

“The investigations and raids on numerous different journalists, the appointment of specifically aligned billionaires to lead various major news agencies, is very troubling,” he said. “Creators and new media outlets are stepping in and trying to fill gaps.”

The Michigan primary will be the latest test of the evolving media ecosystem, which El-Sayed, a longtime podcaster himself, has tried to harness. Various progressive outlets, creators and organizers have aggressively promoted his campaign.

El-Sayed said the rise of independent media has let voters compare news across different channels and notice biases, but he doesn’t turn down opportunities on legacy media, either.

“I go on Fox News, I go on podcasts, I Twitch stream, we have a YouTube channel,” he said.

Stevens, who received endorsements from outgoing incumbent Sen. Gary Peters, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, has a more traditional approach. She’s also backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and its affiliated groups, which have spent close to $30 million on the race.

Stevens’ campaign declined to comment for this story.

Reporting from progressive outlets has influenced how the race has unfolded. For example, Stevens parted ways with a campaign consultant when Drop Site revealed that she had also worked for tech company Palantir, which is controversial in liberal circles because of its government contracts involving immigration enforcement.

Democratic officials said Trump’s return to the White House has also revived interest in the party’s official channels. The Democratic National Committee’s relatively new digital media offering, a rapid-response clipping and messaging account with the handle @FactPostNews, has amassed more than 2 billion impressions on Threads, X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky in 2026 alone.

“I remember thinking to myself, there’s a chance that this flops and doesn’t get any traction,” said DNC Deputy Chief Mobilization Officer Paulina Mangubat. “It’s been really, really successful.”

At times, the mix of new voices on the left has erupted in public tensions.

Grim recently faced criticism for boosting failed Democratic candidate Graham Platner in Maine, and he was accused of trying to undermine the credibility of the sexual assault allegation that torpedoed Platner’s campaign. Grim said while he recognized people were angry, his reporting on the allegation was meant to share additional context.

“If we’re going to litigate allegations in the court of public opinion, we can’t pick and choose what details we want to share with the public out of a fear of how they’ll be received,” he said.

More recently, when Drop Site interviewed progressive U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California, one of its journalists pressed Khanna on whether Hamas was justified to attack Israeli soldiers on Oct. 7, 2023. Khanna refused to agree.

But Grim said those are the kinds of tough questions independent media are there to ask — and that American voters increasingly want to see their representatives in Congress answer.

“People want to see you being accountable to questions, and if they don’t agree with you, sometimes that’s fine,” he said. “I think the smarter politicians are starting to recognize that.”

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The show’s new executive producer, Nick Bilton, announced the news in a staff memo Tuesday, shared on X. Joining Douthat and O’Donnell will be author Sebastian Junger, Trevor Phillips and Gianna Toboni. All will be contributors to the show.

The new journalists join current correspondents Lesley Stahl, Jon Wertheim and Bill Whitaker. Their hirings come two months after a shake-up at the storied program, led by the network’s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss.

Weiss installed Bilton, who has little substantive broadcast news experience, as executive producer, replacing Tanya Simon, who was let go after a 30-plus-year tenure with the show. Also let go were correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega — and soon after, Scott Pelley, after a tense confrontation with his bosses over the changes.

In addition to the three dismissed, Anderson Cooper — whose primary job is at CNN — said earlier this year he was leaving of his own accord after two decades.

Weiss and Tom Cibrowski, the CBS News president, praised the new hires in an internal memo. “We couldn’t be more excited about this news,” the two said, welcoming the new additions. “Onward!”

Bilton called Douthat “one of the preeminent public intellectuals in America today, a thinker of uncommon rigor and a journalist of deep empathy.” The columnist has spent nearly two decades at the Times and is an author of numerous books.

The producer called O’Donnell “a powerhouse.”

“You’ve seen her all over the network. She’s launched a new podcast. And you’ll see much more of her in our halls because Norah will be a correspondent on 60 Minutes.”

Bilton praised Junger for his nonfiction work “The Perfect Storm,” about a catastrophic 1991 storm. The book “landed with an electric charge in the world of reported nonfiction, defining an intense and intimate form of storytelling and establishing Sebastian as a generational talent,” Bilton said.

Toboni joins “60 Minutes” as a contributor and CBS News as a national correspondent. Previously a senior correspondent with VICE News and “VICE on HBO,” she comes to the program from CNN.

Calling her a journalist of “extraordinary range,” Bilton noted that Toboni has interviewed members of the Islamic State militant group, investigated cartel violence in Mexico and written a book on the death penalty.

Also serving as contributor will be Trevor Phillips, announced last month as the news division’s senior global affairs correspondent. Based in London, he is “one of the most respected and trusted voices in the United Kingdom for his ability to ask the toughest questions and hold anyone in power to account,” Bilton wrote in his memo.

Turmoil had raged at “60 Minutes” for more than a year before the May shake-up. Much of it came after President Donald Trump sued the show over its editing of a 2024 interview with then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

That became part of a broader shake-up at CBS News after Weiss was named to the new role of editor-in-chief by parent company Paramount late last year following David Ellison’s arrival as the network’s corporate leader.

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Descendants of Gordie Howe, the hockey legend whose name is on the bridge, were among the first to cross over the Detroit River, which separates the Motor City from Windsor, Ontario.

The span, which was built by Canada at a cost of $6.4 billion Canadian, now becomes a less-expensive alternative to the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, which had a monopoly on big trucks carrying goods worth billions between the two countries, especially in service to the auto industry.

“There are thousands of trucks that go over” daily, said Kevin Ketels, a business professor who teaches supply chain management at Wayne State University.

Freddie Garrett, 81, said he regularly watched construction “ever since they put the foundation in” back in 2018. So naturally he showed up at Delray Park in Detroit to see the first vehicles moving overhead.

“It was amazing to see how they did it,” Garrett said. “They put up one section at a time and then they met together in the middle. I’m sure it will be there longer than I’ll be around.”

Last week, Canada celebrated the Gordie Howe International Bridge with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Windsor. U.S. and Michigan representatives were uninvited after President Donald Trump suddenly announced 50% tariffs on Canadian goods entering America.

More than 70% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S., making America its largest trade partner, and Detroit is the No. 1 port for truck traffic on the U.S.-Canada border, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The span is 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) long and rises 151 feet (46 meters) above the river at its highest point. Pedestrians and bicyclists will be able to cross it for free, starting Aug. 5.

Howe is a Canadian icon known as “Mr. Hockey” who wore No. 9 while playing for the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. He died in 2016.

A recent agreement between Canada and the Trump administration says Canada will share some toll revenue with the U.S. government for 15 years. Michigan separately negotiated a share in 2012, but it won’t be paid until Canada’s costs are recovered, likely decades from now.

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Telemundo has acquired the Spanish-language broadcast rights in the U.S. for all UEFA men’s club competitions for three seasons, beginning in 2027-28, the company announced Sunday.

The deal will bring live coverage of every match in the Champions League, the European tournament widely considered the world’s most prestigious club competition, across all of NBCUniversal’s broadcast, streaming and digital platforms, which include Peacock, Universo and Telemundo Deportes Ahora, its free, ad-supported television (FAST) channel.

The package will also include the Spanish-language rights to UEFA’s Europa League, Conference League and Super Cup competitions. (NBCUniversal is the parent company of NBC News and Telemundo.)

After the World Cup drew record audiences for Telemundo, the next question was how to continue building on such interest, said Cesar Conde, the chairman of NBCUniversal News Group. The Champions League, which is played annually and features many of the stars who became household names in the U.S. during the World Cup, was a natural answer.

“The World Cup didn’t really create an American soccer audience; it revealed it,” Conde said. “Premium soccer is just one of those truly global experiences that’s leapt out in the media ecosystem, and it brings people together from different backgrounds, different cultures, and different languages, and for something to be able to transcend all of that is very powerful in this current media ecosystem.”

Luis Fernández, Chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, described Telemundo’s overarching strategy as being based on “live TV, live TV live TV,” and that within live television, soccer’s appeal is uniquely broad and compelling.

The company has invested heavily in the sport. On Thursday, Telemundo announced it will carry more than 100 matches per season from Germany’s Bundesliga. The company already carries the Spanish-language broadcasts for the Premier League, the Olympics, U.S. men’s and women’s national teams matches and Liga MX clubs Guadalajara, FC Juárez and Tigres UANL.

“This World Cup demonstrates that for our audience here in the states, (soccer) is very important,” Fernández said. “If you ask what is the most important franchise brand sports rights in football and soccer, there are only two names: World Cup for the national teams and Champions League for the most important clubs in the world.”

The deal comes at a time of surging viewership for soccer in the U.S.

Through the semifinals, Telemundo’s coverage averaged a total audience of 6 million, an increase of 147% on the 2022 World Cup at the same stage of the tournament, according to the company.

A record audience of 50 million watched the U.S. match in the round of 16 of the World Cup across all broadcasters, making it the most-watched non-NFL sporting event this century, according to U.S. Soccer. Yet viewership continued to set records even after the U.S. team’s run was over. A total audience of 11.4 million watched Argentina’s win over England on Telemundo and Peacock, making it the most-watched semifinal ever in Spanish-language media history, according to the company. Spain’s win over France was watched by an audience of 9.8 million.

Notably, Telemundo says it reaches 96% of U.S. Hispanic TV households, the audience for its World Cup broadcasts hasn’t been limited to Spanish speakers. Though about 20% of the U.S. population is Hispanic, Telemundo’s broadcasts drew more than half of some matches’ total audience, including the round of 16 thriller between England and Mexico, according to Variety.

“An interesting dynamic that we particularly saw during this World Cup is that fans increasingly aren’t choosing to consume premium soccer based only on language,” Conde said. “They’re choosing it based on authenticity and the experience that they want to get out of the events. And so that’s what I think has also been a great insight and reminder for everyone in the marketplace, that authenticity in coverage of a global sporting event like soccer can transcend language, demographics, and cultures.”

Aleksander Čeferin, the UEFA President and chair of the board of UC3, which sells UEFA’s media rights, said in a statement that the “agreement with Telemundo reflects both the strength of our competitions and the passion of Spanish-speaking fans in the United States.”

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But while the team’s exploits on the field could not match the success of its supporters, pubs in England — some of which are struggling financially — have been boosted by the boon in beer sales from the team’s run to the World Cup semifinals.

England plays archrival Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday, an 8 p.m. kickoff back home (3 p.m. ET) that will likely see fans flock to pubs across the country hoping to see their team make its first World Cup final in 60 years.

The profit made from the World Cup accounts for around 15% of the annual sales made by the Bread and Cheese pub in Thundersley, a small village around 40 miles east of London, owner Steve Haslam told NBC News in a telephone interview Tuesday.

He said he expected to make around 7,000 pounds to 9,000 pounds ($9,400 to $12,000) more than the average Wednesday, when England kicks off.

And his pub is not alone. Around 5.5 million extra pints had been sold during group stages alone, according to UKHospitality, a trade body that represents the country’s hospitality and leisure sector.

Emma McClarkin, the CEO of the British Beer and Pub Association, said in an email Tuesday that it expected “Wednesday to be the most successful night of the tournament, with more than 6 million extra pints potentially sold,” around a 75% increase on the 8 million pints typically sold on an average Wednesday in July.

However, figures compiled by her organization and published in May show that 161 pubs across Britain closed between January and March, the equivalent of almost two a day.

Overall “margins are getting squeezed because it is a tough time for pubs right now,” said Haslam, the owner of the Bread and Cheese who is also director of Aim Pubs, a family business that owns eight pubs across the United Kingdom.

Having initially refused, the government did eventually relent and relax licensing laws for England’s second-round match against Mexico, allowing pubs to stay open until 5 a.m. local time.

But both UKHospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association say lawmakers need to do more to protect the industry and blame high business rates and taxes as contributing factors to pub closures.

It’s a view shared by Ash Corbett-Collins, chairman of the Campaign for Real Ale or CAMRA.

The “government needs to fully recognize the contributions pubs make to the economy and social well-being of local communities,” he said. “We risk losing more and more pubs unless meaningful support is given.”

Fairer business rates and less tax on food and drink, including beer, would help out, he said. “The industry can’t rely on a sports tournament every four years to survive,” he added.

A spokesperson for Britain’s Treasury said the government was backing the hospitality industry by cutting taxes “on family attractions and kids meals this summer, reforming business rates, extending World Cup opening hours, and taking action on the cost of living to boost the sector.”

The British government also announced in January that pubs and live music venues would be given a 15% discount on their business rates from April and not see increases for two years.

The British Beer and Pub Association said that this was “vital, but temporary” but a longer-term plan was required to “save pubs, jobs, and hearts of communities.”

And Haslam also said that the cut was largely ineffective and that he believed the government should revise the business and other taxes to help out.

“The great British pub is the heart of the country. People go to pubs to make memories. They’re social hubs doing so much good for the community,” he said. “Pubs have changed my life.”

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